Spanish have a word for a family man left to his own devices in August

In August, working parents stay behind in a half-shuttered Madrid (left) while their spouses and kids hit the beach.

MADRID (MarketWatch)—For the past few years, it’s been a summer ritual for Sergio González: He bids his wife farewell as she heads to her homeland of Japan with their two children, leaving the Madrid native on his own in the city for nearly three months.

He’s staying behind to work, but what he’s getting from the arrangement is a breather from the routine burdens of family living. “I do exactly what I cannot do when they are here. I can read, I can watch TV, I can go to the cinema, I can hang out,” says González, a 40-year-old graphic designer. “It’s like going back to my 20s. My life is hippyish.”

González, an entrepreneur in addition to being a graphic artist, is one of thousands of Spanish workers who get this kind of idyllic summer break—a separation that for decades has turned dads (and, increasingly, moms) into temporary singletons. The custom has its roots in the peculiarities of Spain’s economy and geography. But it takes its name and spirit from the 1965 film comedy, “El cálido verano del Sr. Rodríguez” (translation: “The Hot Summer of Mr. Rodríguez”), which recounts the adventures of a middle-class man whose wife and children take a summer break while he stays behind to work and cope on his own. (It’s not unlike the 1955 U.S. classic “The Seven-Year Itch.”)

“Estar de Rodríguez” (translation: “To be on Rodríguez”) is what you hear those fortunate few say of their status, most always with a smile, and notably in August when summer-camp options dry up and children are spirited away, usually by one parent or the other, from the city to small villages, beaches, the mountains or abroad.

Atlántida Films

The 1965 film comedy that gave “El Rodríguez“ its name.

González’s Rodríguez break is unusually long because of his wife’s nationality, and he often passes the time with other Spanish men in similar situations. While the house stays clean and the burdens light, there is a price, he says.

“I don’t know how to cook,” admits González, with a laugh. “I just buy anything from the market. That’s the most difficult thing. My wife, before she goes, cooks 50 dishes and puts them in the freezer. But they’re gone because it’s been three months, and now I eat anything, anywhere.”

The Rodríguez film came out at a time when the roles of women and men were largely traditional, in the latter years of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship—with most women acting as full-time mothers and homemakers. But the modern version of this summer break has undergone a transformation in recent years, with the rise of two-income families in which partners and parents are often forced to vacation at different times to fulfill work obligations. Spain’s recent economic crisis, which has left around 25% of the population out of work, has made it even harder for those who have jobs to take vacation when and where they want it.

Increasingly, ‘señor’ is a señora

Lidia Martín Araujo, 39, is a journalist living in Madrid who was recently enjoying a brief few days of a Rodríguez break while her husband vacationed with their 10-month-old child. Sleeping, seeing a movie and catching up with friends were the highlights she was looking forward to.

She also recently blogged about the transformation of the tradition. “I have many friends who are on Rodríguez, because more and more, and due to the crisis, partners can’t reject summer work, and one will sacrifice for the good of the other,” she says.

The economic crisis has drawn more Spanish women into the workforce. Data from the National Statistics Office shows that 3.4 million women were classified as breadwinners in the second quarter of this year. That compares with 1.2 million who claimed that status in the first quarter of 2002. It’s a big jump, even when accounting for population growth of 15% over roughly the same period. As a result, it’s increasingly frequent that “Señor Rodríguez” is a señora.

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